


Refraction

by reaperlight



Category: Death Note, Fringe
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Awkward Sexual Situations, Awkwardness, Deception, Early in Canon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Falling In Love, For Science!, God Complex, Het and Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Underage Relationship(s), Kink Meme, M/M, Mad Science, Male Homosexuality, Narcissism, Psychic Bond, Pyromania, Roommates, Science Experiments, Science Fiction, Self-cest, Sibling Incest, Souichiro's A+ Parenting, Teenagers, Twincest, Woobie, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-25
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2017-11-10 16:49:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/468516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reaperlight/pseuds/reaperlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Light has a secret he’d rather not share... (Written for the Death Note Kink meme.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Alternate

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** _This is a Death Note fanfic, I own nothing!  
>  Inspired by watching Fringe and a Kink Request for "L with two Lights, Light has a twin and they both become Kira together."_  
>  **Pairings:** _Light x Light, L x Light x Light, one-sided Misa x Light, and one-sided Wedy x Light._

It all started with Light Yagami's fifth grade science project—naturally it was very advanced for his age—the young prodigy had taken a passive interest in quantum mechanics and parallel realities that week. Unfortunately, Light knew his pet project was far too advanced for his teachers to grasp and eventually ended up making a baking soda and vinegar volcano just like everyone else. Of course, there was another reason he didn't want to share his science project... 

"Hey bro, pass the chips!"

Somehow getting to know himself seemed like a far too personal revelation and Light knew it would make himself uncomfortable should he expose himself to the class. 

Light made a face as the other boy giggled insanely while ripping open the bag of chips. His... companion liked spicy barbeque potato chips. Light preferred consommé himself. 

Their favorite color was red, they both wanted to be a detective when they grew up, and they both hated injustice with a passion. 

They were physically identical—they were the same height, same weight, their hair was the same shade of russet, they had the same golden brown eyes. They even shared a similar taste in clothing—they both liked shopping and dressing nice but while he liked lighter, pastel colors his alternate preferred darker colors, black silk dress shirts, sometimes even leather pants. 

He was quite handsome, if he did say so himself.

Light soon discovered that there were many benefits to this relationship. Having a study partner, even if it was himself—helped hone their already keen intellect—mentally they were on the same level and together they were becoming _even smarter, more cunning..._ Neither Light ever really had a peer they could just _talk_ to before...It was a basic human need that they didn't even realize they were missing.

Light grimaced in annoyance as his doppelganger got greasy crap over everything. 

That's the thing about meeting yourself—you find out all the embarrassing things you don't like about yourself. Yet despite how irritatingly similar they were they had bonded instantly. It really was inevitable that such a bond would be forged due to the circumstances of their meeting 

As the ten-year-old Light tinkered with quantum theory through some fluke he had accidentally built a device that would open a portal to a parallel reality. (Try as he might he could never replicate his experiment.) And out of that portal came _him?!_ Or rather, another version of him, one that was currently panicked and scared and looked as if all the fiends of hell were after him. Instinctively Light grasped his copy's hand and drew him into his own reality just before the portal closed. Light held his twin as he broke down sobbing in his arms. 

Alter!Light later told him all about what happened. It all started when in his world a group of scientists activated something called the Hermes-Solomon Collider. It was supposed to just measure the properties of microscopic particles. Instead it ripped a hole in reality and caused their world to collapse. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't save anyone. Alter!Light had already seen much of his world dissolving, his parents, his sister—it happened right before his eyes. 

Light had held and comforted his twin as he told his story, how he had been just sitting in his bedroom, resigned to his fate, until he saw that "hallucination" of a portal opening up. Light's science project (perhaps somehow interacting with the results of the Hermes-Solomon Collider?) had temporarily opened a gateway that led to his own bedroom in the other universe. With literally nothing left to lose, Alter!Light had lunged for it with the strength of a dying man. Then the portal had closed and his world collapsed behind him. 

So his alternate couldn't exactly go home—it no longer existed. His family, his world was dead! He had nowhere to go and Light wasn't about to turn him out onto the street—he couldn't do that to himself! So with careful planning Light hid him in plain sight—he always thought having a brother would be cool and not even his family would know that there were two Lights. 

The boys took turns going to school, interacting with family, eating. If Light's family ever wanted to talk to him in his room, one Light would hide in the closet while the other did all the necessary interactions until the intruder went away. They carefully rationed their food and bought their own. One Light would go out and make money while the other attended high school. They took care that they were never seen together in public and if they ever went out together at least one of them would always wear a disguise. 

***

They had both been raised by a Souichiro Yagami, Chief of the NPA, they both had a normal housewife mother named Sachiko, and a little sister named Sayu. That was one difference that couldn't be helped—because of what happened to his alternate he was much more emotionally needy of the two. It was inevitable that they would become different people. There was no doubt in Light's mind that his copy was damaged, and yet they perfected their act so flawlessly that no one could tell the difference. 

They themselves had noticed that there was a very slight difference in personality and preferences between them but nobody paid attention to such details—after all, normal people varied their habits from day to day. Light knew that neither of them was normal but no one needed to know that. 

***

They soon discovered because of some kind of dimensional resonance they were linked—sharing an almost telepathic connection like some twins were said to experience. They had a general sense of knowing what the other was up to—if one Light was hurt the other would experience phantom pains and if one Light was feeling good then so would the other. And while that could be terribly inconvenient, Light also saw this as an asset—he didn't have to worry about what his doppelganger was up to. He always _knew._

For both Lights meeting himself had been a stroke of good fortune. It had broken up the tedium that was his life with something strange and wonderful. It was the same for his alternate and there was also a matter of gratitude—after all, he had literally lost everything—his other self had saved his life and, in a way, reunited him with his family. 

They shared everything together-- _absolutely everything._

"Does this make us gay?" His alternate whined even as he spread his legs and let him have his way. 

Light had, uncomfortably, been worrying the exact same thing—in the eyes of others this would probably be considered gay... and incestuous. But to the awkward teenaged Lights it seemed perfectly natural to want to explore their own body "Let's just call it masturbation." 

Whatever. 

It was his body (bodies?) he could do what he wanted with it and he was finding that these little sessions reduced their stress levels significantly. And for the first time in his life he wasn't bored. He was actually having quite a lot of fun. 

But these sessions also brought another potentially life-changing revelation-both Lights soon discovered that they were both horrible control freaks-they both always wanted to top. However if they were to fight for it every time they always ended up with noticeable marks which led to awkward questions. In the end the only resolution was to take turns (ultimately resolved with the flip of a coin.) Not that it made much of a difference anyway, thanks to their unique bond—they felt what the other was feeling so the sex was the same no matter what position they were in. And though neither wanted to admit it being the catcher was fun too. 

Light found he was training himself to loosen up a bit and be more accommodating. Sometimes "losing" was just as fun as "winning" and if he could just adjust, he could position himself to better attack his opponent's weak points, his erogenous zones, which Light did when his alternate had him on his back, gently kissing his throat, Light would surreptitiously move his hands in circles beneath the other's shoulder blades. Neither liked being touched there because they were so sensitive, so responsive--it felt so good that it made them lose control quickly. Light sighed wistfully as a hand (his hand, yet not) caressed the smooth, cream-colored skin of his stomach.

They had experimented, of course. No one else was as good as he was. No one else could even compare. The other Light's bangs tickled his nose as they drifted off in bed together.

It was official—he was in love with himself.


	2. A Black Hole Sun

Light lounged in bed, quietly reading the most advanced physics book the library had to offer. It turned out (as usual) he already knew most of it. 

It was all _so boring._

He let out a long drawn out sigh before closing the book and rolling over in bed to stare at the ceiling—these four walls might as well be a prison cell. He hated days like this. Both he and his alternate were hopeless workaholics and between the two of them they already had practically all their projects done months in advance. So there was literally nothing left to do but watch the news and stew about the rotten state of the human race 

Just then Light perked up when he heard their special knock on his bedroom door—his alternate had returned home from school. He got up to let his twin into their bedroom and was met with a version of his own face that was practically glowing with excitement. It seemed his alternate had all the luck today. Light felt the resonance of his doppelganger's emotions—something had his other feeling _intrigued_ and now he knew he must now be wearing a matching smile as he leaned in to give the newcomer a deceptively chaste peck on the cheek. As usual the Light that waited had already stripped down to his boxers in anticipation of his other half coming home, there was little else for them to look forward to, and so their excitement was quickly translating into addled hormones. The newcomer Light swallowed hard at the sight that greeted him—his sexy, seductive doppelganger that was clearly ready to jump his bones.

"H-Hey." He said shyly as his twin embraced him in greeting. 

"Hey yourself. You seem _excited_ this evening."

"Yeah—" Light replied intelligently, still gawking at himself as he wondered how he got so be so sexy. "You too," he cleared his throat, trying to cover his awkwardly cracking voice. 

The undressed one smirked rakishly as he cuddled up close to the other boy. "So how was your day?" 

The other fidgeted and then couldn't contain himself anymore as he popped open their plain grey book bag. "Check it out" He said while irrationally dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. There was really nothing to worry about—they knew that his family never heard them in their room, no matter _what_ they were doing. His other grinned as he proclaimed "This is sick!" while pulling what appeared to be a black notebook with white romanji lettering on the cover that proclaimed it to be a "Death Note." 

They both got a good chuckle as they flipped through the rules. "And I thought _we_ had too much time on our hands!" 

"I mean—the things people come up with!" 

"Just when you think it can't get any more twisted!" 

"This _is_ sick! Why the hell did you even pick it up?" 

He was unsettled by the question. Come to think of it he _was_ just going to just leave it there but... it almost seemed he was _overtaken_ by an odd compulsion to keep it. Light dropped the notebook as if he had been burned by it and the little black book landed ominously onto the surface of their comforter. The other Light could only quirk an eyebrow in response to his counterpart's odd behavior. _What's he getting so worked up about? It was just a stupid prank!_

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah" He shrugged. "I don't know what I was thinking. Just wanted to share, I guess. And school today was just so incredibly _boring._ I mean in English class—the rest of the class is _just_ learning about sentence structure"

"Argh! God! The IDIOTS!" the half-naked teen groaned in an overly-dramatic fashion as he flopped back onto the bed. The mattress creaked as the other kneeled down beside himself to gently card his fingers through his twin's silky, mussed up hair. He was rewarded when the other boy leaned into his touch. 

"I know. And I think Hayami-sensei _knows_ we could be doing his job. He called on me again today." His sexy self smirked up at him as he affected a droning tone of voice. "' _Absolutely flawless, as always._ '" And they both broke out into a fit of giggling at his flawless impersonation of their English teacher. 

"It's like that's all he can ever say!"

"Do you think maybe he has the hots for us?"

" _Ew!_ " 

"Well You know, he's not bad-looking for an old guy."

"You are not seriously considering-"

"Of course not! I was only joking!"

"Good," said the other, loosening his cherry-colored necktie "because you're too good for him and I don't want to share!" And with that he began tickling his other half which quickly turned into playful wrestling to which the Light that waited gracefully conceded defeat when his counterpart began mapping his bare skin with gentle kisses. 

Both Lights shared a low chuckle as they tumbled together in the bed—and both immediately became annoyed when they discovered that _goddamned book_ was still there, and with their tumbling around the book slid down the comforter practically falling in their faces. What the hell was it still doing here? He thought he had gotten rid of it... Or perhaps he only _thought_ of getting rid of it and then became distracted. But now neither of them could look away, like it held some magnetic draw upon them. 

"What the hell is that thing?" The shirtless Light asked in barely a whisper. Now that he looked at it more closely he was beginning to get an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. The cover wasn't just black. It was _devoid of light._

In his boredom Light had just been re-reading Stephen Hawking or more specifically on black holes. He knew this stuff backwards and forwards. Nothing escapes from a black hole—not even light; and once you hit the event horizon it's already too late, you've already fallen in and there's no escape. There's no coming out the other side, nothing _survives_ a black hole—everything that is swallowed up gets ripped apart. But because time passes so much slower at the boundary anyone unlucky enough to get trapped inside—it would seem as if they fell forever, and _died_ forever. 

That's part of what had Light returning to a subject he had already studied again and again—the thought of some poor hypothetical astronauts dying in agony _forever._ That well, that just _sucked._ There had to be a way out! Wasn't there always a way out if you were clever enough? When he was younger he had sometimes imagined riding to the rescue in another hypothetical spaceship to pull them out but he knew this was an impossible feat. For one what were the odds in the vastness of space of another ship coming along to help? And it wouldn't do anyone any good anyway. Anyone who tried to help would just get sucked in too. Alas, the best (and only) plan he could come up with to escape from a black hole was to avoid falling into the black hole in the first place. But now for some reason he just couldn't shake this irrational feeling of dread that his counterpart had somehow brought a black hole or something equivalent into their bedroom.

"Where did you say you got this thing?"

"Well it was just lying around the schoolyard and—but wait, before that I saw it. It fell out of the sky."

"Out of the sky?"

"Yeah." He said as he idly picked up the book again and began _caressing_ its spine and the other Light discovered that yes it was indeed possible to become jealous of inanimate objects. 

"Do you think it fell out of an airplane? Or maybe..." 

"Maybe it was another porthole. A rift to another world! Maybe even..." _where I'm from._ The other Light nodded, intuitively understanding what was left unsaid. 

_A porthole. Or maybe this is the porthole—or a black hole._

He shivered as thoughts of falling forever once again plagued his mind. The other noticed this and frowned but willfully ignored the other's apprehension, writing it off that his counterpart was just cold. So in response he cuddled up next to him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. 

"Do you think it's possible?" He asked, his eyes sparkling with a naïve optimism that he rarely saw on his damaged copy that lost everything. He looked so happy and he wanted to preserve that happiness. It made him want to lie to himself. To say everything would be okay... 

But then the book fell open again to the rules and that ludicrous statement "This is a Shinigami's notebook." He let out a laugh. 

"Which part? The magic Shinigami artifact? Right I mean look at this thing! It's probably something some _emo_ came up with. There's no way it could possibly be real!" Light insisted trying to convince himself as much as... himself. Because it couldn't be real! If it was real it was already too late. If it was real they were already trapped... "Besides it claims it has the power to kill people, not open portholes." Even if it was just a prank the whole thing was more than a little _eerie._ Just the thought that this book had the power to end people's lives "It's wrong to even consider this!" he croaked out of his suddenly dry throat. 

"You're right. It's dumb" his twin ascented as he chucked the notebook in the trash. "And even if it could somehow open portholes my world..." _It's pointless. There was nothing to go back to._

And then the other, the Light of this universe, his "brother," his lover was throwing his arms around his shoulders in comfort and they moved together as one, breathing as one. 

Alter!Light was surprised when his twin snagged him by his tie, pulling him down on top of him to kiss his mouth hungrily. He regretted saying those things that made himself sad—they had inadvertently broached on a painful subject they had agreed not to talk about and shouldn't he treat himself on occasion? He wanted to reward himself for breaking up the monotony, at least for a little while, even if it was an utterly stupid prank; and even though it was technically his turn to top he would make this noble sacrifice. It would be a treat for his twin—he knew he would appreciate very much because _he_ would and they were one and the same. (More selfishly he was really craving the feeling of penetration at the moment though it was something he would never admit, not even to himself.) The currently submissive Light let out a small whine as his companion licked and sucked at his neck trying not to leave any marks but Light knew that he tended to get carried away with things and so he foresaw turtlenecks in his immediate future. In a swift motion his alternate had flung his boxers off. They most likely landed in the vicinity of his desk. Now he was completely naked while his twin was fully clothed—that would have to be rectified soon. 

Light wasn't sure what had gotten into himself tonight. It was strange. They both seemed keyed up more than usual and his alternate was just radiating dominance, his eyes burning like twin suns as they swept over his body. It was like if he wanted to he could reach out and grasp the world in the palm of his hand. He felt invincible, like they could do anything! The other Light saw that and wanted it—he wanted to see how far they could go. 

"Hurry up!" He growled out when his companion fumbled around in his bed stand for the lube. Craving the stretch, he impatiently rose up onto his hands and knees pushing backwards against his other's lubed up finger as he began to slowly tease at his entrance. He could practically feel the other's smirk and not for the first time Light wondered _Am I really this much of an asshole?_

He let out a soft cry as his companion worked his way in with his finger, teasing him slowly, and sending pleasurable chills up his spine. 

"Bastard! Stop screwing around and just give it to me! _Please!_ " He demanded as he grew impatient with the other's teasing. (Demanded, not begging. He would never _beg_ but he figured he was well within his rights to make demands of himself.) First and foremost because he wanted it now, but also there was a feeling; some half-remembered anxiety gnawing at the back of his mind--for some reason time was of the essence... His body shivered again as his twin grabbed him, bruisingly, by the hips. Before meeting himself Light had never imagined he would ever do this for anyone. He hated it and he liked it and he hated that he liked it and it was all so very confusing. That's why they usually took turns. (Just what _had_ gotten into him today?) Of course he would _never_ let anyone else to put him in this position. He couldn't trust anyone else. Nor would he ever spare a glance for any of those around him (the stupid, the ugly, the _rotten_ ) but Light knew he could trust _him._ After all, if you can't trust yourself who can you trust? 

Light bit back a moan as his counterpart continued to be a prick. The fabric of his khaki slacks were the only barrier between him and the other boy's raging hard on but it was a barrier just the same. 

"Tease." He accused as he shot the other a lascivious look over his shoulder. 

"Looks who's talking." He was surprised when it came out in a near whisper as he stared, captivated at that most beautiful sight before him. 

Then it seemed his alternate had finally decided he had tortured himself enough. The currently submissive one could barely contain his excitement as his partner slowly unzipped his slacks, letting out a needy whine as he rubbed against him. 

They were just getting into position when they were rudely interrupted by a loud pounding on their door. 

"Light, honey. Don't you have cram school tonight?"

"Shit," he cursed softly. 

It was all because of that _goddamned book._

In their intrigue (and what had followed) they had totally lost track of the time! 

"Er, yeah! Just a minute!" the other Light hollered back quickly. It was a good thing they always kept their door locked (and since "Light" had done it that way ever since he was a kid no one thought anything of it.) 

The naked Light worked in a frustrated, animalistic sound in between his increasingly panicked mantra of "Shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

By the time he finished getting dressed he was going to be late!

"I'll go," said the other, as if reading his mind. "I can get decent quicker." 

"No, it's not fair to make you do a double shift."

His twin cracked a smile. "Most students have no choice, you know."

Light scowled. They probably _would_ have had enough time for a quickie if they hadn't been distracted by that damned book! And on top of that because their schedule was fouled up he'd have to skip supper later!

His alternate surprised him by giving him a peck on the cheek

"We can do this later, love and I'll get take out."

"You'll get take out?"

"Could I... maybe... feed it to you?"

The other Light blushed cutely. "I think I'd like that." 

"Light!" his mother called again and his alternate squeezed his hand. 

"Later." He said before he shut and locked the door. 

Light smiled warmly as he flopped back onto their bed-a strange, giddy feeling belying his irritation at their being interrupted. He sighed wistfully as he imagined what he was going to do with himself later. He was, admittedly, quite smitten with the other boy. Even if he could be a bit difficult at times it was nice having someone who understood and appreciated him. 

No one else did. 

Really, what would he do without him? Be bored out of his skull? Resort to sending sick chain letters to other students? 

Speaking of that damned book—there it was—a black corner of it innocently poking out of the waste paper basket. The thing had an undeniable pull—now that he was alone in the room with it, the thing demanded his attention, he was drawn to it. The thing's pull proved too strong.

For some reason he couldn't fathom Light had chosen to leave his pleasant and comfortable spot on the bed where he had been waiting for and fantasizing about himself to go ominously stand over the waste paper basket where the book remained. He was seriously considering lighting the whole thing on fire.


	3. Light Lights Up

His second shift at school, cram school, was largely uneventful for the alternate Light. The only thing was… Well, it wasn’t even really quantifiable, really. It was just that that odd sense of _confidence_ which had washed over him earlier seemed to vanish almost as soon as he stepped out of his bedroom and now he was feeling kind of down. Well he supposed there was a perfectly rational explanation for these strange feelings—here he had been highly anticipating sex and then got cock-blocked—but that wasn’t exactly the first time this situation had, uh, arose and he just knew this feeling had been different. 

He sorely missed that sense of euphoria—before he had been feeling good, no better than good—like he could take on the world! Light was struck with the sudden rather frightening, paranoid thought that perhaps that trash he picked up at school was coated in some sort of drug that had been absorbed by his unprotected skin. Dammit, he was better off pitching that book! He’d read that even trace amounts can linger and really, the last thing the son of the Chief of Police needed was a trace of PCP or something showing up in his next drug test. If he had thought of it earlier he could just send his other in such a scenario but no, he had to go and show it to his other self and now he too had no doubt been affected by whatever this was. It seemed so obvious now—while he was holding that thing he felt like… he felt like a God. But now? Now he was feeling so lousy, so anxious—anxious to get home. Was this some sort of withdrawal? Because that’s what it felt like—like the feelings of separation anxiety he thought he had finally trained out of himself over the last six years after… coming here. 

(Wow, had it really been that long already?) 

Light again reminded himself that he was safe here. The Hermes-Solomon collider did not exist in this universe. He had his new family—so similar and yet… different. Where he was from neither he nor his sister had ever heard of this Hideki Ryuuga character but his Sayu had been quite taken by some smug, irritating no-talent Canadian popstar that Light had concluded had somehow managed to steal his hairstyle—that was one death he wouldn’t mourn with the collapse of his universe. Of course Light loved and missed his Sayu but he admittedly found this Hideki Ryuuga obsession to be a vast improvement. His Sayu had enjoyed making models of planes and cars together with him but it seemed this Sayu and this version of himself never really got into such hobbies and the one time the alternate brought up the idea with this Sayu she just looked at him funny and asked “shouldn’t you be studying?” His Sayu had loved to play kickball. This Sayu was obsessed with shoes. 

His mother was an amateur artist who always managed to set aside some time to paint—the alternate had many fond memories of accompanying his mother and sister to the park to draw or of kicking a ball around with Sayu while their mother painted the scene. That could never happen here—in this universe his or rather his other’s mother didn’t seem to have any hobbies beyond cooking and obsessively cleaning and his father… the alternate frowned. Really, he never saw his father enough in either universe to know if there were any discrepancies. He was still a distant, unpleasable authority figure that Light hoped would one day acknowledge his existence.  
It was… painful for him. They were his family, yet not. He was forever an outsider in his own home though he knew his other did everything he could to help him adjust. His other—the only one he could rely on, the only one he could trust. His other—his everything. With that thought in mind the alternate became aware of the source of his anxiety—he’d been about to write off his foul mood on just being exposed to his rotten classmate’s stupid chain letters and a lack of sleep but this..? These feelings were far too strong to just be his own. Light realized that he was feeling his as well. That meant that something was greatly bothering his twin. Light wanted to rush right home but both Lights understood that they had to keep up appearances. If they took to rushing home every time they felt the other was upset or anxious then the sheep around them might start to notice that things weren’t quite normal with “the Yagami boy” and that was something that neither of them could afford. 

“Hey, Ryou buddy… didn’t you want to lend me some money?” 

Light scowled as the voice of a familiar irritant cut across his thoughts. 

_Sudou…_ Light turned to glower darkly at where the smarmy-looking jock was again picking on the pudgy boy at the back of the class. 

“A-again? But I can’t do that…” 

Light sighed as he watched the exchange and the chubby boy coughed up the money for the school douchebags and no one lifted a finger stop it. 

He didn’t either so perhaps that made him just as bad but… no. He, unlike his classmates, he had a good reason not to. Light knew from that talk when he was five that his father didn’t want him “embarrassing him.” In recent years it wasn’t only that but because he didn’t want to bring attention to either himself or his twin—that would bring them nothing but trouble. They couldn’t afford the attention. And really, there wouldn’t be any positive outcome should he attempt to interfere. It’s not like anyone else was leaping up in his defense either. (Surely there was nothing stopping his worthless classmates from stopping this injustice! The girls for instance—shouldn’t they be good for something? They could get the teacher’s attention. The girls could always just cry and get their way!) Light reasoned that even if he did try he knew Ryou would not appreciate it. All that would happen would be that they all got in trouble and nothing would change so it was utterly pointless to try. Besides, there would always be another Sudou. 

_People like that should just drop dead._

Light sighed. Some things never changed. The world was rotten. The alternate had observed this to be a universal truth—even across universes. As the teen sat there and brooded he decided that this observation needed a name and so he would hence forth refer to “Light Yagami’s Theory of The Conservation of Rottenness.” The rules of his theorem went as follows: 

1\. No matter what the world this world shall be rotten.  
2\. The form the rottenness will take might change but the rot will always remain.  
3\. Rot can neither be created nor destroyed but merely broken down into its rotten components. As in a rotten individual may be shot down by the police but then he will proceed to rot in the ground…  
4\. Rotten people’s very existence causes others to turn rotten. Like introducing a virus. Or that colloquialism about how “one bad apple spoils them all…” 

Light mused that his thoughts had taken a rather morbid turn. Just great, now even his mind was beginning to rot! But was it really any surprise though—being surrounded by these shallow, mindless simpletons who apparently thought death threat chain letters were all in good fun? Damn, he missed his own company! 

Another wave of intense emotion hit him again while he was still in the middle of class—his other was becoming more and more agitated. Something was very wrong. He could just _feel_ it as a pounding in his head and a nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach—his other was in _pain_. No, not pain exactly. He would have felt it more directly if his twin was injured. No this was emotional pain and stress that manifested as physical but what could be causing this? The alternate struggled to suppress his ever-growing anxiety and just clear his mind. He’d just have to wait the last twenty minutes for cram school to let out. As the seconds and minutes all too slowly fell away he began to worry that his own ever-increasing anxiety was inadvertently contributing to his other’s worry, creating a horrible feedback loop—that had happened to them before. But he had never felt his other getting so _terrified_. Few things could scare him, _either_ of them, short of injury or their family getting hurt. What if their father got injured at work or something had happened to his sister or…? The alternate grasped his book bag with clammy, shaking hands just as the teacher finally dismissed them for the evening. 

The alternate tried to make his way home at a brisk pace but had to stop, leaning against the wall of an alleyway when the whirlwind of emotions started making him physically ill—the misery, the terror, and the… triumph?  
_Just what’s going on?_

The alternate stoically forced himself to ignore the emotional turmoil that was coming in waves over their mental link for the alternate was sure that even as upset as his other was, he would be even more put out if he didn’t get his takeout. 

He’d just paid for their food when he happened upon a scene in front of Nice Mart. 

“The name’s Takuo Shibumaru, how about it pretty lady!” 

_Is this what I think it is? Are they really going to…? And not only were they… but here? In the middle of the fucking street?! Someone needs to stop this! Why doesn’t someone do something?!_ Light thought as he stepped inside the store to better observe the scene. Maybe he’d misread the situation. Maybe they weren’t really…. 

“Let’s go boys, strip her down right here!” 

_Oh God, it’s really happening! That man needs to…_

Light instinctively reached for his bag. The Death Note. On the off-chance it was real… If he could just… 

_Takuo Shibumaru_

_Takuo Shibu…_

The teen desperately fumbled with his bags until he remembered that the Death Note wasn’t there—that he’d pitched it earlier. The teen sagged despairingly against the magazine stands. 

_I can’t save anyone!_

The teen’s face hardened in resolution as he caught sight of the phone on the counter—he’d make an anonymous call to the police—they’d never make it in time but at least he’d be doing _something_. He reached for the phone but suddenly the shopkeeper was there, holding a gun to his face. 

“Walk on home, boy. We don’t want any trouble here.” 

A bead of sweat trickled down Light’s face. 

_He must be involved in something illegal and didn’t want cops showing up._

Despite what his other had sometimes suggested he wasn’t suicidal—he really wasn’t eager to throw his life away. As painful as it was sometimes to go on, even if he sometimes felt like an unnecessary _copy_ in this world—he was the only one left. When he fell who would remember his World? No one—the burden fell on him and him alone. So he must continue to exist, _for them,_ even if sometimes he just wanted to crawl in a hole and die.  
But he couldn’t just stand by and watch this! What if it was his sister or… or even his _twin?_

The gun didn’t leave his temple. 

The teen closed his eyes, trying to ignore the sounds of screaming and reached over the phone and put his hand in the bowl full of discount things on the counter, awkwardly making like he had been reaching for it all along “I’d like to buy one of these, please.” 

The shop keeper just sneered but he finally put the gun back under the counter and rung up the purchase. The automatic doors parted with an air of finality as he stepped outside. 

The whole time the girl just kept screaming for help and there was nothing he could do. 

He couldn’t hope to take on three huge biker guys alone—not even with the convenient metal pipe he picked up off the ground. He could probably get one lucky hit in before they murdered him and then resumed what they were doing. But the pipe was his only weapon—all he had on him was his book bag, the takeout, and some of those little packets of complimentary coffee creamers. Oh, and whatever it was he’d just been coerced into buying. For the first time Light got a good look at what he’d just purchased. 

It was a cigarette lighter. 

A plan began to form fully in his mind. 

_***_

He couldn’t believe that that actually worked… 

_“HEY!”_

The gangsters spun around in shock, dropping the girl who fled screaming; the gangsters likewise decided that they best be elsewhere when a solid wall of flame came rushing towards them. 

It was something that Light had read about once while hacking into the police server when he was twelve. There was a notice that the inmates weren’t allowed coffee creamer anymore because the instant creamers were highly flammable and were easy to turn into makeshift flamethrowers. 

He had used the pipe as a funnel for the flames, wrapping the end with his coat as a measure of protection against the worst of the burns when he lit the granular creamer on fire. The effect was an instantaneous—a raging inferno whooshed out the other end of the pipe which he then turned on the gangsters. 

They had run off now but so had the girl. He hoped she’d be okay. He had been worried that she too might get caught up in the blaze but he had decided that even if she had been caught in friendly fire, having to content with a few minor burns was still more favorable than the alternative. The teen discarded the superheated pipe and what remained of his coat and picked up his takeout boxes. He didn’t want to be around if or when the biker gang realized he was out of coffee creamer. He barely held back a laugh when he realized that his takeout had gone a bit cold. He doubted his other would mind though given he’d been cooped up in their room with nothing to eat… 

His thoughts skidded to a halt as he realized that some of the fear he was still experiencing was not solely his own. 

He had to get home and find out what his twin was doing. 


End file.
